How Kimmel and the Rest Can Shove Trump’s Threats Right Back Down His Throat

Why Going Direct-to-Audience is Trump’s Worst Nightmare

How Kimmel and the Rest Can Shove Trump’s Threats Right Back Down His Throat

Why Going Direct-to-Audience is Trump’s Worst Nightmare

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #559: Thursday, September 18th, 2025.

Donald Trump has spent decades showing the world who he is: a thin-skinned… wannabe strongman who can dish it out but can’t take it.

Now he’s promising to do what every dictator does: punish and silence media voices that don’t bow to his ego.

Case in point: his threats to “revoke licenses” from networks that don’t kiss his ass. First off, let’s get this straight…the man doesn’t even understand the FCC.

He can’t yank a license from CNN or Jimmy Kimmel because the FCC doesn’t regulate cable or streaming. He can’t legally do what he’s threatening.

But here’s the danger:

Trump’s bluster has always been about intimidation. And intimidation works. Corporate boards and cowardly executives start sweating.

They’d rather neuter their own people than risk the wrath of an authoritarian with 50 million angry followers ready to be sicced on them.

That’s where this strategy comes in.

Because if Trump wants silence…the best counter-punch is noise. Loud, relentless, impossible-to-contain noise.

The kind that lives outside of his reach…outside of FCC leverage…outside of corporate timidness.

The Core Principle: Go Direct…Go Independent…Go Nuclear

Here’s the Kennedy principle: When they come for your distribution, you build your own damn distribution.

Trump can’t yank a YouTube channel. He can’t stop a podcast feed. He can’t revoke a Substack or Patreon. He can rant and rave…but he can’t regulate online direct-to-audience channels the way he thinks he can bully a network.

Jimmy Kimmel. Stephen Colbert. Seth Meyers. Hell…even the anchors on MSNBC and CNN who know they’re targets.

They need to do what Trump fears most: take their audience with them into a parallel, independent media ecosystem that can’t be shut down with one phone call.

The Strategy: Step by Step

1. Build Parallel Platforms

Every host should be building:

• A YouTube channel (with cross-posts on Rumble…Vimeo…etc. to avoid single-point failure).

• A podcast feed for audio versions of monologues/interviews.

• A Substack or Patreon for premium…unfiltered commentary.

• An email list…because email is the ultimate insurance policy.

You know what that does? It makes every viewer a direct subscriber…not a number on a Nielsen sheet.

2. Don’t Wait Until They’re Fired — Start Now

Kimmel doesn’t have to quit his show. He just has to start dropping “uncensored, no-commercial” clips once a week online. Colbert could do the same. Imagine the headlines: “Kimmel’s Off-Air Monologue Rips Trump.” It would spread like wildfire.

By building the audience now…when Trump tries to silence them…the infrastructure is already in place.

3. Monetize the Rage (Smartly)

Trump weaponizes rage to raise money. Guess what? So can the truth-tellers.

• Offer $5/month premium subscriptions for uncensored monologues.

• Sell live-stream tickets for special events.

• Partner with democracy-defense organizations for cross-promotion.

Audiences WANT to support fighters. They’ll pay gladly if they know it’s the best way to punch back against Trump’s gag order.

4. Safety in Numbers: Band Together

One Kimmel podcast is powerful. Ten high-profile voices forming an anti-authoritarian media coalition is unstoppable.

Think “The Justice League of Late Night.” A cross-promotion network where Kimmel, Colbert, Oliver, and Stewart swap clips…appear on each other’s feeds…and flood the internet with material. Trump can’t silence them all at once.

5. Flip the Script: Make Trump’s Threats the Headline

Every time Trump threatens to silence someone…that person should immediately drop an online monologue titled: “Here’s What Trump Doesn’t Want You to Hear.”

That’s judo. His intimidation becomes the promotion. His attempt at censorship becomes the ad campaign.

6. Use Humor as the Sword

Here’s the thing Trump can’t handle: mockery.

He can absorb criticism…lawsuits…and even indictments. But he loses his mind when people laugh at him.

Kimmel and others should double down on ridicule….not in a petty way…but with the kind of sharp…relentless satire that makes it impossible for Trump to hide.

The rule: every time he attacks…you get funnier and louder.

7. Own the Archive

Networks own the footage. But Kimmel, Colbert, Oliver…they own their voices. Start building independent archives of material that can be repackaged…monetized…and weaponized in the fight. Don’t let the suits control the legacy.

Why This Crushes Trump’s Plan

1. He can’t control it. FCC can’t touch YouTube or podcasts.

2. It multiplies reach. A clip online gets more eyeballs than a broadcast slot.

3. It turns fear into fire. Instead of being silenced…stars become louder.

4. It makes them antifragile. The more Trump attacks…the bigger their audiences grow.

Trump’s hope is to intimidate media into silence. The counter-strategy makes his threats a growth engine. Every punch he throws builds the very thing he’s trying to kill.

The Kennedy Kick in the Teeth

Let me be blunt: If Kimmel and others sit back and trust their networks to protect them…they’re screwed.

The corporate cowards will fold faster than a cheap tent. The only way to survive is to build a platform that’s beyond Trump’s reach…and do it now…not later.

This isn’t just about TV hosts. It’s about every journalist…comedian…and truth-teller. We can’t count on institutions to stand up to authoritarian threats. We have to build our own.

And the beauty of it? Trump can’t stop it.

He can threaten. He can whine. He can throw tantrums. But he can’t silence a million subscribers hitting “play” on a podcast…or a million readers opening an email newsletter.

That’s the Achilles’ heel of the wannabe dictator: he’s trying to fight a 21st-century media war with 20th-century censorship tools.

Share the Sh*t Out Of This Issue Of JHN

So here’s the deal: Trump is going to keep threatening.

He’s going to keep promising to punish the media. But if Kimmel and the rest follow this playbook…Trump loses.

Because the one thing he fears more than ridicule is ridicule he can’t control.

And the minute the people he’s trying to muzzle realize they don’t need the networks to reach millions…that’s the minute Trump’s dream of silencing critics goes up in smoke.

That’s how you crush him. That’s how you win. And that’s how you save democracy… one laugh…one subscriber…one unfiltered monologue at a time.

If you happen to know any celebrities, hosts, anchors or others who are likely a target of Trump…and whose voices he might wish to silence…send them this article. If you know them well, send it privately.

Let them know I would be happy to communicate with them about a more detailed, and complete “Here’s How to Make It Happen” plan. It’s critical. Freedom is counting on it.

Back soon.

-Jack